The Nagle algorithm makes Telnet more efficient. It reduces the number of IP packets sent over the network by consolidating messages that are sent within a small time interval into a single IP packet. When the Nagle algorithm is enabled, the operating system waits some interval before actually committing the data from a send command, in the hopes that the application will call send again with more data that can be consolidated with the first. For details see http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc896.txt